“Oh, whatever. I’m
sure Joe would make an exception for you.”
I shake my head and
scrub the pan I’m holding even harder. “Not tonight.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s
right; you have to finish writing the song first.” She nudges me and gives me a
smile. I want to be mad at her, but I can’t. I want to tell her to drop it, but
I won’t. This is how she would’ve treated me a few months ago and it’s me that
asked her to be normal. This playful banter between us, this is our normal.
“Damn, you sing and
write your own shit, too?” Josh asks, slamming his hand down on the table,
bringing the attention back to him, which I’m thankful for.
I can’t help
laughing at how he just described my songwriting as shit. “Yeah,” I answer.
“I’m trying, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Jenna rolls her
eyes at me. “Whatever, Holly is being way too modest. She’s a brilliant
songwriter and has an awesome voice to match. You guys should totally come when
she does sing.”
This time I don’t
even try to hide it; I aim a pointed glare right at her.
❧
After all the
dishes are clean and dry, we pile on the couch.
“Okay, so coin toss
to see who gets to pick the movie,” Josh says, flipping a coin up in the air
and catching it.
Jenna sighs and
sinks back into the couch even farther. “I think you should let the girls
choose, it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“Yeah, well, you
know that’s not happening. How about I’ll let you call it?” Josh counters.
“What’s it gonna be? Heads or tails?”
“I think you should
let Holly and I choose,” Carter speaks up and I turn to look at him. “It’s not
like the two of you will be watching it anyways.”
Jenna playfully
glares over at him and I look over to her with a questioning expression.
“Heads or tails?”
Josh asks again.
“Tails!” Jenna
yells out and Josh flips the coin up in the air.
He catches it and
slaps it down on the back of his hand. Smiling, he looks to Jenna and I laugh at
the fallen expression on her face. “Sorry, babe,
Zombie Apocalypse
it
is. I guess the chick flick will just have to wait for another night.”
Josh puts the movie
in and hops onto the couch next to Jenna. Adjusting the pillow behind me, I
glance over to the recliner beside the couch and find Carter watching me. I
smile politely and then focus my attention on the T.V. in front of me.
It’s not even
thirty minutes into the movie before Josh and Jenna are making out on the couch
beside me. Carter’s in the chair to my right, so I’m sandwiched in between him
and two sex crazed people. Awkward and uncomfortable doesn’t seem to do the
situation justice or explain how bad I am going to kick Jenna’s ass for this
later. Thirty more minutes go by and I reluctantly glance to my left to see
that Josh and Jenna are still at it.
How obvious
would it be if I just got up, walked out the door and drove away?
I wonder. Reaching my eyes to the right, I see Carter
playing with his phone.
As I’m
contemplating my exit plan, my phone chimes and I lean over to get it,
hoping—no praying—that it’s a message stating that zombies are invading
Colorado and we all have to evacuate. Even though it’s not the state of
emergency I was hoping for, the name that pops up on my screen still surprises
me.
Carter:
Want to
get out of here?
I smile and glance
over at him. He’s smiling, but still looking down at his phone, and not meeting
my gaze. Before I even have a chance to respond, my phone chimes again.
Carter:
Or are
you enjoying the make out session beside you?
Glancing over at
him, I shake my head and purse my lips. Carter stands and jerks his head
towards the kitchen, signaling me to follow his lead. We walk down the hall
that eventually empties into the garage.
“Thanks for bailing
me out,” I say when he closes the door behind me.
“Well, I know that
once they get started, especially during a movie, they don’t stop.” He laughs.
I can’t help but
laugh, too. “So you’ve had to witness this for the last few months?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s
PG compared to some other things I’ve seen.” He shakes his head as if trying to
empty the memories from his head.
“Oh, wow, I had no
idea. Maybe they’ll start splitting up the time between you’re place and our
place, and give you a break.”
“Watch it.” He
smiles. “Be careful what you wish for.” He walks over to the pool table, takes
a ball out of the pocket and tosses it up in the air. “It’s cool, though. I
haven’t seen Josh this happy in a long time… maybe ever, so I’ll deal with it.
Tonight was some big plan for us all to hang out and get to know each other
better. I think he’s tired of his girlfriend and best friend not getting
along.”
“Don’t let Jenna
get to you.” I take a few steps closer to the pool table and then lean against
it. “She’s really a nice person when you get to know her. It’s just that
she’s—”
“Protective,” he
says, interrupting me. “I know and I get it.”
“It’s more than
that, though. She’s loyal and can be really sweet when she wants to be. You
just have to get to know her.”
“That’s the plan.”
He tilts his head and shoves the ball across the table. It bounces off the
corner and comes to a rest on the other side of the table, near me.
“She put up with a
lot from me this past summer.” I shiver involuntarily. “Most friends would have
given up on me a long time ago… but she… even at my worst, she was still there
for me.”
His face softens
and he swallows hard. Crossing his arms across his chest, he rests his left hip
against the pool table and stares at me, his eyes unwavering.
“Aren’t you cold?”
I ask to fill the silence. It isn’t too strange of a question; he really could
have been cold. The temperature in the garage can’t be much warmer than
outside. He’s only wearing a t-shirt. I, at least, have a sweater on.
“Nah, it’s not too
bad. You?”
“No, I’m okay.” I
shrug. “We don’t have to stay out here if you don’t want to. The movie’s
probably almost over anyway... and I’m sure the make out session will end,
too... hopefully.”
“We can go in, if
that’s what you want.” His gaze never leaves mine and I can’t figure out what
it is about his eyes. They’re not only tired looking, but lost and sad, too. We
hold our stare for a long minute before the door swings open.
“There you are,”
Jenna says, smiling blissfully at me. “The movie is over.”
“Hey.” I return her
smile.
“That movie was so
disgusting. It was pretty uncomfortable to watch, huh?”
I choke out a
laugh, but try to cover it up by clearing my throat. “Yeah, it was
uncomfortable to watch, all right.”
Carter and I
exchange a smile and then follow Jenna back inside.
It’s clear when we
get back to the living room that Jenna and Josh want to finish what they
started. Jenna pulls me aside and gives me the keys to her car, saying she
wants to stay with Josh tonight.
“She can take my
bed, I’ll sleep on the couch,” Carter offers and we both turn our heads towards
him.
“I can’t take your
bed. I’ll just drive home,” I say.
“I hadn’t even
thought of that,” Jenna says, smiling and glancing over at Carter. “It’s late,
Holly. I’ll just worry about you all night. Stay here, please.”
“I’ll change the
sheets for you and everything,” Carter continues.
“It’s not
necessary.” I look over at him. “I’ll sleep on the couch. Just give me a pillow
and a blanket, and I’ll be fine.”
Josh chuckles. “You
say that now, but you’ll be cussing in the morning when you wake up all stiff
and sore. That couch sucks.”
“Just take my bed,”
Carter says again.
“I can’t do that, I
would feel bad.”
“Don’t feel bad.
I’m offering it to you,” Carter says.
Chapter
Eight
A life spent making mistakes is not only more
honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
~ George Bernard Shaw
CARTER
I wake up to
something hitting me in the face.
“What the hell?” I
squint out of my right eye.
“Wake up, dude,
it’s almost ten,” Josh says, chunking another orange at my head. I grab my
pillow and dodge it just before it makes contact.
“I’m gonna kick
your ass, shithead.” I stretch my legs out and feel a sharp pain shoot up my
back reminding me that I slept on the couch last night. That one thought sets
off a domino effect, reminding me that I gave my bed to—Holly! My body jerks up
into a sitting position and a searing pain runs up my back and into my neck.
“Sleep well?” Josh
laughs and I chuck my pillow at him. “The girls already left. Apparently, Holly
said she couldn’t sleep because your bed smelled really bad.”
“Whatever, dude.” I
shake my head and stretch my neck to the right and then back to the left. “Did
they really leave?” I ask, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Yeah, they went
home to shower and change. That was nice of you to offer up your bed, by the
way. I’m sure you won some brownie points for that one.”
“I’m not trying to
win any brownie points from Holly.” I roll my eyes, not sure why I woke up in
such a grumpy mood. Oh yeah, I remember, this couch sucks.
“I was talking
about Jenna. For some reason it’s taking her a while to warm up to you. You do
need to get your lazy butt up and get ready, though. We’re leaving here in an
hour.” He disappears into the kitchen.
Damn. Football at
the Sigma house today. I totally forgot. “You may have to play without me, man.
My back is killing me,” I groan and fall back to the couch.
His head comes fast
around the corner. “You’re not backing out on me, man. Not at the eleventh
hour. I need you. The team needs you. If you don’t play, then we’ll have to
settle for Brady as quarterback and he can’t throw a ball to hit the side of a
barn. You’re not bailing on us.” After he finishes his whining, he disappears
into the kitchen again. “Actually, make that forty-five minutes. We’re picking
the girls up on the way. I guess, if you want to be a pussy and back out, I’ll
just show up with two hotties; one on each arm.”
“Jenna and Holly
are going?” I ask and my chest clenches.
“Yeah, we discussed
it over breakfast this morning.”
I jerk back up and
swing my legs off the couch. How the hell did I miss all of this?
“Knew that would
get you up,” Josh calls and I can hear the smile in his voice.
❧
“Good luck, babe.”
Jenna kisses Josh on the cheek. Guys from both teams start heckling him, bringing
unwanted attention to both Jenna and Holly… or maybe just Holly. Jenna seems to
love it, but Holly looks like she’s trying her best to blend into the ground
beneath her. I glance over at Josh and it’s clear that he loves the attention,
too. He actually takes it a step further when he grabs Jenna, catching her off
guard. She gasps as he bends her over and kisses her like no one’s watching.
The entire crowd goes wild and I can’t help throwing a whistle or two out
myself. Holly’s laughing while shaking her head, and seeing her smile, makes my
smile grow even bigger.
“Come on, lover
boy. We’ve got a game to play!” I yell to Josh. He finally breaks from the kiss
and jogs over to the rest of the team.
At the end of the
second quarter we’re killing them, up by seven. It’s our ball; we break from
the huddle and I take my position. When I glance to my left it takes me by
surprise to see Holly looking directly at me. I give her a small grin and then
focus my eyes on the ball.
The ball flies
towards me and I catch it, run backward, and look for an open man. Josh is
trying to dodge a guy, but he can’t shake him. My eyes are scanning the open
field and I’m about to make a run for it myself when I feel a heavy object run
into me, knocking me to the ground.
When I glance up, I
hold my hand up to shield my eyes from the glaring sun to see Travis staring
down on me. Anger rips through me and I jump up to my feet, but before I can
get in Travis’s face, Josh is in front of me, blocking my path.
“Why do you have to
be such a prick,” Josh says, pushing Travis back a foot.
“Hey, c’mon guys,
let’s just get back to the game,” I say, hoping to be the level-headed one and
prevent a fight, although I feel like it’s coming whether I like it or not.
“What? Can’t fight
your own battles anymore?” Travis laughs, encouraging me and shouldering past
Josh.
There’s a crowd
around us now and the last thing I want to do is fight him again, but I will if
I have to. “Hey, I just came here to play football, man. I don’t want any
problems, okay?”